Flights Des Moines → Washington
DSM → DCA
How long is the flight from Des Moines to Washington?
The flight from Des Moines (DSM) to Washington (DCA) takes about 2h 13m. This is an estimate based on the distance between the two airports: the real time depends on the aircraft, wind and any stops.
Route overview
The flight route from Des Moines to Washington operates with an Embraer 170 aircraft and has a 79% on-time performance rate, with an average delay of 19.5 minutes when flights are not on time. The destination airport, which opened in 1938, serves over 25 million passengers annually.
Your rights on this US flight (DOT)
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under the US DOT rules, if your flight is cancelled or significantly changed and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Amenities for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
US flight refund rules & checker →General information, not legal advice.
The Des Moines (DSM) → Washington (DCA) route is operated by American Airlines. Across 436 flights monitored in recent months, 80% arrived on time (within 15 min of schedule), with an average delay of 23 minutes. The cancellation rate is 7.11%. FlightGuard's average computed risk is 23.6/100 (medium), updated in real time from weather, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel and flight history. At Washington the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes (main cause: atfm). Departing from Des Moines the average ATFM delay is 5.5 minutes.
Heading to Washington: what to expect in this direction
Flying from Des Moines (DSM) to Washington (DCA) heads east for about 1,440 km, a flight time of roughly 2h 13m.
Departures from Des Moines on this leg cluster in the morning window: about 52% of DSM-DCA flights take off then.
Air-traffic congestion: departing Des Moines the average ATFM delay is 5.5 min (atfm); arriving into Washington it is 5.5 min (atfm).
Across 436 tracked DSM-DCA flights, 80% left on time with an average delay of 23 min and a 7.1% cancellation rate.
Route facts
Flights on this route
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Airline punctuality on this route
| Airline | On-time | Average delay | Cancellations |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines (AA) | 79% | 6 min | 1.1% |
Airlines operating DSM-DCA
Airports
Frequently asked questions about DSM-DCA
The flight from Des Moines (DSM) to Washington (DCA) takes about 2h 13m. This is an estimate based on the distance between the two airports: the real time depends on the aircraft, wind and any stops.
On the Des Moines (DSM) -> Washington (DCA) route, on-time performance is 80% with an average delay of 23 minutes, based on 436 tracked flights.
The cancellation rate on Des Moines-Washington is 7.11% across 436 monitored flights.
The route is operated by 1 airline: American Airlines.
Enter your flight number on FlightGuard for a real-time analysis based on 9 factors: weather at Washington, ATC delays, strikes, NOTAMs, fuel, airline punctuality and recent trends.
US flights have no statutory cash compensation for delays. Under US DOT rules, if the airline cancels or significantly changes your flight and you decline rebooking, you're owed an automatic refund of the unused ticket. The tarmac-delay limit is 3 hours (domestic) / 4 hours (international). Meals or hotels for controllable delays depend on each airline's contract of carriage.
